{"product_id":"9781605014401","title":"Five Weeks in a Balloon : or Journeys and Discoveries in Africa by Three Englishmen","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eFive Weeks in a Balloon, or, Journeys and Discoveries in Africa by Three Englishmen\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e (French: \u003ci\u003eCinq semaines en ballon\u003c\/i\u003e) is an adventure novel by Jules Verne.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eIt is the first Verne novel in which he perfected the \"ingredients\" of his later work, skillfully mixing a plot full of adventure and twists that hold the reader's interest with passages of technical, geographic, and historic description. The book gives readers a glimpse of the exploration of Africa, which was still not completely known to Europeans of the time, with explorers traveling all over the continent in search of its secrets.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003ePublic interest in fanciful tales of African exploration was at its height, and the book was an instant hit; it made Verne financially independent and got him a contract with Jules Hetzel's publishing house, which put out several dozen more works of his for over forty years afterward.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e— Excerpted from \u003ci\u003eWikipedia, \u003c\/i\u003ethe free encyclopedia.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MobileReference","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47133954375920,"sku":"9781605014401","price":0.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781605014401_p0.jpg?v=1763833729","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781605014401","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}